Rail story - ABCNetwork Sun-1/7/07 6:30 pm

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At the beginning of the newscast the anchor gave a teaser of a passenger rail (it showed Amtrak and an Amtrak diner interior) story in this newscast for whoever is watching this board in close to real-time.

For the benefit of new readers of this topic, that newscast was on Sunday Jan 7th.
 
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If you go to www.ABCnews.com there is a webcast of the story. Its story #4 right now. I'm sure it will be gone in less than 12 hours.
 
A couple errors:

1) The print story definitely says "Amtrack" instead of Amtrak.

2) At the beginning of the video, the reporter says "The California Zephyr, on its way from Denver through the Rocky Mountains to Seattle." Perhaps he was thinking of the Pioneer, but I think that went to Portland.

But a very good piece nonetheless. I was impressed with some of the shots they got. Very nice views of the train and its scenery.

-RM
 
I thought it was a pretty bad report, personally. Besides the glaring error right off the bat (California Zephyr rolling through the Rockies from Denver to Seattle), the report seemed to imply that 1) food service on today's trains is horrible, and 2), the Empire Builder is "living in the past," all the while highlighting Amtrak's financial losses on food service.

As for #1, while the SDS menu doesn't have the same options as the old menus did, the food quality (when properly prepared) is just as good as it used to be. They showed the "microwaved mac & cheese," implying that everything is microwaved when in fact it is not (or, at least, should not be).

Point #2, by claiming that the Empire Builder is "in the past," they're presenting Amtrak's long-distance trains as being worth little more than nostalgic joyrides rather than useful transportation.

Then, they failed to note the diner-lounge experiment as an attempt to draw more business to the food-service cars, while providing all-day menu options and reducing costs while maintaining food quality and improving selection on the SDS menu. Nope, instead, it's all doom-and-gloom.

I think it's a report we could have done without.
 
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I thought it was a pretty bad report, personally. Besides the glaring error right off the bat (California Zephyr rolling through the Rockies from Denver to Seattle), the report seemed to imply that 1) food service on today's trains is horrible, and 2), the Empire Builder is "living in the past," all the while highlighting Amtrak's financial losses on food service.
As for #1, while the SDS menu doesn't have the same options as the old menus did, the food quality (when properly prepared) is just as good as it used to be. They showed the "microwaved mac & cheese," implying that everything is microwaved when in fact it is not (or, at least, should not be).

Point #2, by claiming that the Empire Builder is "in the past," they're presenting Amtrak's long-distance trains as being worth little more than nostalgic joyrides rather than useful transportation.

Then, they failed to note the diner-lounge experiment as an attempt to draw more business to the food-service cars, while providing all-day menu options and reducing costs while maintaining food quality and improving selection on the SDS menu. Nope, instead, it's all doom-and-gloom.

I think it's a report we could have done without.
They also seemed to imply that you cannot get items such a desserts, wine, etc on trains that offer SDS which is quite inaccurate.

I agree with others that the scenery shots were beautiful, but overall, it was bit more doom and gloom than they needed to go with...
 
One additional neglected fact is that many of the "old" style meals served on Amtrak - especially breakfast - come largely pre-prepared (French toast has always been microwaved, then tossed on the grill for a final touch, filling for omelets has always been prepackaged, etc.) and in keeping with FDA guidelines, everything comes sealed in plastic...
 
I liked the story. It was sympathetic to Amtrak. I wish they would have pointed out that it was a Republican Congress that demanded cuts and job cuts.
 
I liked the story. It was sympathetic to Amtrak. I wish they would have pointed out that it was a Republican Congress that demanded cuts and job cuts.
Just to be clear, the Republican Congress only demanded that Amtrak cut the losses on food service. They did not demand that Amtrak cut jobs. That was Amtrak's choice, not Congress'. Congress issued no instructions on how Amtrak should cut the losses, only that they cut the losses.

Amtrak could have raised prices, eliminated cafe service on other short haul trains, renegotiated food provider contracts, perhaps even tried to get a new contract out of the Amtrak food service workers or any combination of those ideas and perhaps even others that I haven't thought of. Heck Amtrak could have even tried to go back to Congress with proof that they were running food service as lean as already possible and asked for a reversal of the funding condition.

Instead Amtrak decided to cut jobs and the only way that they could do that was to give us SDS, which according to Amtrak in that report has only managed to save $15 Million a little more than 1/10th of the loss that food service incurs. So they've only saved a tiny drop in the bucket with this idea and certainly not enough to satisfy the Congressional mandate. :(

IMHO both Amtrak and Congress made extremely poor decisions with this entire issue. :(
 
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Let me get something straight here:

The decision to change to SDS did not come on David Gunn's watch did it? It came during David Hughes(interim) watch if I am not mistaken...please correct me if I am wrong. I assume the directive for this came from the Amtrak Board and how much of it was a "kneee jerk" reaction to Congressional mandate. As AlanB pointed out above, Amtrak could have done many different things. I wonder if the "Business-type" experience that some of the Amtrak Board has (ie cutting costs=cutting labor), played into this whole scenario? I also wonder if this is something that Alexander Kummant would have suggested or wanted and now feels he has to comply with because it is already underway.

By the way AlanB, while 15 million might be peanuts, the average Congressperson/Senator (who rarely looks at how things function and go together) might be impressed enough to vote positively for the Amtrak budget!
 
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I hear both AlanB and Frj1983 on the difference between cutting losses and cutting labor. But I think the reality is that labor is the most expensive part of the service. As a result, the biggest bang for the buck is a reduction in labor, and that means significant increases in productivity of the remaining workers, which in the case of the dining cars means pre-packaged meals.

It's really a truth in any industry. Auto, Construction, Manufacturing, anything. Maximize the productivity of a small, effective workforce. Whether by use of robots in manufacturing, or pre-packaged meals in dining cars.

As far as the customer experience, though, that is something that shouldn't be compromised. I'll be riding the Silver Meteor next month, which I believe is using the new program. I'll decide for myself and report back on my opinion. I travel by air for business quite a bit, and many times I get upgraded to first class [Once you get to a certain mileage status, they do that at no charge]. My personal expectation of the food on the Meteor is that it should be at least on par, if not better, than the meals served in first class on airlines. If it's not as good, I'll be reporting that back here.

As Marc Magliari said in the report, the dining car is the central peice of the customer experience on these trains. If it stinks, then the program is really doing a disservice.
 
I hear both AlanB and Frj1983 on the difference between cutting losses and cutting labor. But I think the reality is that labor is the most expensive part of the service. As a result, the biggest bang for the buck is a reduction in labor, and that means significant increases in productivity of the remaining workers, which in the case of the dining cars means pre-packaged meals.
I completely agree. They cut jobs becasue it is the most bang for the buck. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Amtrak's food cost actually went up with SDS. Instead of the macaroni boarding the train in a box and the cheese in a block and hiring a person to cook the macaroni and melt the cheese and prepare the meal, Amtrak hired a company to do that and then hire a single person to nuke and present the meal.

As far as the customer experience, though, that is something that shouldn't be compromised. I'll be riding the Silver Meteor next month, which I believe is using the new program. I'll decide for myself and report back on my opinion. I travel by air for business quite a bit, and many times I get upgraded to first class [Once you get to a certain mileage status, they do that at no charge]. My personal expectation of the food on the Meteor is that it should be at least on par, if not better, than the meals served in first class on airlines. If it's not as good, I'll be reporting that back here.
You and I are alot alike. I too fly too much and have "elite" frequent flyer status with NWA. I am used to the freebie upbrade. I rode the Silver Service to Florida as an alternative to flying during the TSA "liquids" scare and got hooked on the train. I'm now trying to spend a year without stepping foot on a plane.

I found the SDS food to be a bit better than the food served in domestic first class on NWA. I also rode the Acela in First Class a few months. The food served there is almost identical to the food served on NWA.

I'd be curious to hear about your experience.

Rick
 
By the way AlanB, while 15 million might be peanuts, the average Congressperson/Senator (who rarely looks at how things function and go together) might be impressed enough to vote positively for the Amtrak budget!
I agree that the average member of Congress might not look at how things function, but I do believe that even the most mediocre Congress member can figure out that the mandate was to cut the more than $100M in food service losses and Amtrak is only going to be able to show a cut of $15M on the diner side according to Brian Rosenwald. Now perhaps there have been more cuts in the cafe area that we're unaware of, but failing that, I don't think that Congress is going to be pleased. Now the fact that a different party controls Congress may help, but it's hard to say at this point what will happen.

All that said though, I'm not sure that it matters that Congress understands anything and I don't mean that in an insulting way. IIRC, the provisions in the last funding bill leave the determination of whether Amtrak has made enough progress in cutting costs up to the DOT, and the DOT must withhold funding if they determine that Amtrak isn't making enough progress.

Ps. I believe that the mandate came down just about the time that Gunn was fired, but I'd have to go looking at old posts to be certain.
 
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I hear both AlanB and Frj1983 on the difference between cutting losses and cutting labor. But I think the reality is that labor is the most expensive part of the service. As a result, the biggest bang for the buck is a reduction in labor, and that means significant increases in productivity of the remaining workers, which in the case of the dining cars means pre-packaged meals.
I completely agree. They cut jobs becasue it is the most bang for the buck. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Amtrak's food cost actually went up with SDS. Instead of the macaroni boarding the train in a box and the cheese in a block and hiring a person to cook the macaroni and melt the cheese and prepare the meal, Amtrak hired a company to do that and then hire a single person to nuke and present the meal.
Just to clarify things a bit, SDS didn't convert all food in the diner from cooked on board to prepared off the train. Prior to SDS, at least half the food served was already pre-cooked and simply warmed on board the trains. Steaks were cooked to order along with hamburgers, as were eggs and omlettes, pancakes, and I believe the French Toast was also cooked on board or at least partially cooked on board. Most fish, chicken, and other dishes were already pre-cooked prior to being brought on-board the train.

However there was more time for heating, since there was more staff to deal with things, plus many of the better chef's would still spruce things up a bit before serving the food. I recall one story about a chef who actually brought his own spices onboard just to spruce things up for his passengers. Now with less time to prep stuff and less hands to do it, things do get rushed more. I also suspect that sometimes the microwave is used for things that are supposed to be heated in the convection oven.

But the bottom line here is that Amtrak didn't just go from everything cooked onboard to everything pre-cooked. Therefore I'm not sure just how much food costs went up. In fact I've heard a few reports that the costs for buying the food actually did go down a bit. I think that however had more to do with Amtrak finally cutting a better deal with Gate Gourmet and perhaps a lessening in quality a bit too.

On the other hand as has been noted before in other topics, Amtrak is now spending a lot more money on plastic plates and cups, as well as to haul away all the extra garbage now being produced. This without a doubt has negated some of the savings gained from cutting the second cook.
 
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Let me get something straight here:
The decision to change to SDS did not come on David Gunn's watch did it? It came during David Hughes(interim) watch if I am not mistaken...please correct me if I am wrong. I assume the directive for this came from the Amtrak Board and how much of it was a "kneee jerk" reaction to Congressional mandate.
I think the implementation of SDS was right around the same time that David Gunn was fired (late 2005 for the test implementation, IIRC). If my memory is correct, full implementation did occur under David Hughes. However, it's not like SDS is something that was dreamed up overnight, so the starting of planning did occur under David Gunn.

Regardless, SDS was not really Amtrak's preferred route of doing things, but, according to managers with whom I've spoken, was the best they could do quick enough to satisfy the "cut losses on food service" language in the appropriation. Amtrak had to do something quick, and the Empire Builder "experiment" had just started. They were planning on a diner-lounge concept, which had things designed around SDS, but (as we know) that wasn't to be available for another year (i.e. last month), which was far too long to wait for the IG to certify that progress had been made.

As for the Empire Builder, keep in mind that it's more than just "real" dining car service (whatever "real" means). The route was "relaunched" with remanufactured sleeping cars, refurbished coaches and diners, and upgraded lounge cars. This was done in conjunction with months of planning and advance marketing of the service. To do something similar on another route would mean having enough of the remanufactured sleepers, and other refurbished cars (I'm not sure where they are with those at the moment), and would take a few months to implement. A few months is not something Amtrak really had at its disposal when trying to meet last July's "save money or else your food service gets shut down" deadline.

Hopefully, now that there is a year's worth of data available on the Empire Builder (and if there is equipment available to dedicate to another train), they can apply that service elsewhere. Amtrak has already recently shown willingness to preserve passenger-pleasing services, such as the Pacific Parlour car, which was weeks away from its death before being rescued last October, or the additional sleeper capacity on several trains that was supposed to be cut back in the coming weeks. However, it takes more than "real" dining car service to improve the financial performance of a route, so this is not something that Amtrak can do overnight.
 
To do something similar on another route would mean having enough of the remanufactured sleepers, and other refurbished cars (I'm not sure where they are with those at the moment), and would take a few months to implement. A few months is not something Amtrak really had at its disposal when trying to meet last July's "save money or else your food service gets shut down" deadline.
I don't believe that Amtrak had enough remanufactured sleepers at that time, they however do have enough now. I'm not sure about lounge cars and such, although I think that there are enough of those too at this point to launch another upgraded service like the EB. Although nothing was ever confirmed in writing to my knowledge, it was widely believed that the next train to receive the upgraded treatment was to have been the California Zephyr. Sadly I don't think that the plan is still in existance to upgrade the CZ. I base that comment on the fact that the number of planned conversion for the Sightseer Lounges to Diner Lite, will not leave enough Sightseer lounges to run the CZ in the same mold as the EB.

Hopefully, now that there is a year's worth of data available on the Empire Builder (and if there is equipment available to dedicate to another train), they can apply that service elsewhere.
Of course said conversion's haven't even started yet, and they won't happen all at once either, so there is still time for Alex to hold back enough Sightseer's for a reworked CZ.

Amtrak has already recently shown willingness to preserve passenger-pleasing services, such as the Pacific Parlour car, which was weeks away from its death before being rescued last October, or the additional sleeper capacity on several trains that was supposed to be cut back in the coming weeks.
Just as an FYI, the Parlour Car wasn't week's away from being cut before it was saved, it was days. In fact the date for cutting them off actually came and went by a couple of days, with the cars still running past the deadline, before final word came down saving them. Sadly though while the cars still do run, they no longer carry an attendant which does diminish the service a bit, but at least and most importantly they still do run!
 
I think in the video he said he was taking the California Zephyr next and do a report on that. Is his report out?
 
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